In recent years, audio recording devices that convert analog audio signals obtained by a microphone or other sound collection means to digital audio data and store the digital audio data in an IC memory have become common. Such audio recording devices do not require a rotary drive mechanism and therefore have the advantages of being lightweight and compact when compared with audio recording devices which use magnetic tape or magnetic optical disks as a recording medium.
There are audio recording devices that use an IC memory as a recording medium, which can be connected to a personal computer (hereafter, “PC”) and transmit digital audio data to and from the PC. USB (Universal Serial Bus) is widely used for transmission of data between the audio recording device and the PC.
FIG. 9 shows the mechanism for connecting a conventional audio recording device (1) and a PC (8). The audio recording device (1) is provided with a USB connection terminal (23), and the PC (8) is provided with a USB connection port (81). If the USB connection terminal (23) is protrudingly provided on a surface of a casing (3) of the audio recording device (1), the terminal (23) is easily damaged by shocks, etc., and this is also undesirable from a design perspective. The USB connection terminal (23) is therefore located in a concave portion (30) formed in a bottom portion of the casing (3) of the conventional audio recording device (1). Further, when connecting the audio recording device (1) to the PC (8), a connection cable (7) is used that is provided with a USB connection port (71) on one end and with a USB connection terminal (72) on the other end. The audio recording device (1) is connected to the PC (8) by inserting the USB connection terminal (23) of the audio recording device (1) into the USB connection port (71) of the connection cable (7), and inserting the USB connection terminal (72) of the connection cable (7) into the USB connection port (81) of the PC (8).
The IC memory (not illustrated) of the audio recording device (1) is recognized by the PC (8) when a plug-and-play function of an operating system provided in the PC (8) is activated, after the audio recording device (1) is connected to the PC (8). Audio data can be transmitted between the audio recording device (1) and the PC (8) using the operating system of the PC (8). For example, editing, processing, and converting to text the data digital audio data in the audio recording device (1) are performed using the PC (8). If the audio recording device (1) is provided with a playback function, digital audio data can be transferred from the PC (8) to the audio recording device (1). Using the PC (8), the data digital audio data in the audio recording device (1) can also be sent to and from another PC using electronic communications lines such as the internet.
As described above, the intervention of the connection cable (7) is required to connect the audio recording device (1) to the PC (8), so storage of the connection cable (7) is inconvenient for users, and furthermore users cannot connect the audio recording device (1) to the PC (8) if the connection cable (7) is misplaced. The audio recording device (1), which is provided with an IC memory, is compact and lightweight, and has the special advantage of outstanding portability. The fact that the connection cable (7) must be carried separately in order to connect to the PC (8) significantly diminishes these advantages of the audio recording device (1).
Moreover, in automobiles or on trains, under circumstances where working space is limited, when using the audio recording device (1) connected to the PC (8) as shown in FIG. 9, there may be no space separate from the PC (8) to place the audio recording device (1), and the audio recording device (1), when placed, may fall to the floor and break due to vibration or other causes. However, protrudingly providing the USB connection terminal (23) to the surface of the casing (3) of the audio recording device (1) to make it possible to connect the audio recording device (1) directly to the PC (8) is impracticable when protection of the USB connection terminal (23) and design are considered.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, the conventional audio recording device (1) may be placed on a tabletop for audio recording of meetings, seminars, and other events. In this situation, there was a problem in that collecting audio using an internal microphone would cause vibration noise from the tabletop surface to be collected by the microphone and recorded together with the audio, due to the close distance between the tabletop surface where the audio recording device (1) is placed and the microphone.
The present invention resolves the above-mentioned problems and presents an audio recording device which can be directly connected to a PC or other external device without protrudingly providing a USB connection terminal or other connection terminals for external devices on the surface of the casing, and wherein vibration noise from the surface on which the audio recording device is placed is not collected by an internal microphone or other sound collection means.